I've been following the norm of the other two horsey owners but now that I'm here at home, think it's time to broaden my scope of thinking.

Chili is big - not sure of her weight.
Gracie is not so big -also unsure of her weight.

Chili looks like she could still stand to lose a few lbs (can feel her ribs a little but cannot see them)
Gracie looks thin - her hips jut out, her neck looks long and skinny and her withers are horribly pronounced

I read somewhere today that HAY should be green. The ONLY hay I've ever seen (other than when cut) was Alfalfa. ALL other hay is tan/golden yellow. The same article said the color of such hay was old - ???

My hay is not old, it was this past summer's cutting and is tan/golden. I have been feeding (I think), 1-2 flakes/2x's day for both horses. However. Tonight and the other night, I noticed if I drop the hay "flake" on the hard ground, it breaks open to smaller flakes-so, am I wrong in a "flake" measurement!!!????

Grain is 14% Fortified. Right now. Getting the grain I used to get from barn owner and it's 12-14% (can't remember) nothing about being fortified. I was giving about 4qts/2x's daily. When she was able to go out more, I lessoned it to 2qts. When we came here, I lessened it a bit more but that was bc the scoop was smaller (3qt instead of 4) and I honestly didn't notice at first.

So, as of yesterday, they were only getting 3qts DAILY each and 2 flakes daily each.

I'm thinking that Chili only needs the 3qts grain/day whereas Gracie could stand to be fattened up a bit and give her the 6 qts. WDYT??? OR should I give Gracie more hay?

I give them their hay and grain in their walk-thru stalls. Chili tends to be food aggressive to other horses.

The pasture is kinda small and I have a great feeling we'll be feeding hay year round. Much to the chagrin of my wallet !!!! Do I need to start looking for more alfalfa?????

There is also a salt/mineral block. (and obviously plenty of water!!!)

PeggySue: The thin neck on the one horse is because we've only had her 5 days.

I get grain from one of the local feed stores. I have the nutritional value somewhere downstairs but I'm not getting up at the moment to go look - lazy, huh? LOL I'll post it later. I just started using this particular grain and it smells wonderful (I'd make oatmeal outta it!!!) The other grain, that I'm getting tonight, is decent grain as well - from a Coop in the next decent sized city (a guy brings a load in for my previous barn owner). I will get that nutritional value tonight or tomorrow when I pick up the grain. It's $3/bag cheaper. NOT that it's less of a value of grain. The barn owner just gets a good deal out of it.

As for hay - it is in short supply where I live at the moment. There is ONLY ONE place to get round bales and those, while weighing close to 1,600 lbs, are $50 each and cannot be delivered - and we do not have a tractor to move one. So, we're reduced to purchasing square bales at $3-$4/bale.

I read somewhere today that HAY should be green. The ONLY hay I've ever seen (other than when cut) was Alfalfa. ALL other hay is tan/golden yellow. The same article said the color of such hay was old - ???

My hay is not old, it was this past summer's cutting and is tan/golden. I have been feeding (I think), 1-2 flakes/2x's day for both horses. However. Tonight and the other night, I noticed if I drop the hay "flake" on the hard ground, it breaks open to smaller flakes-so, am I wrong in a "flake" measurement!!!????

The color depends on how long it laid drying in the field. The longer it lays, the more sun bleached.

Flake size depends on the baler setting. Weight is a better guide to feeding hay.

No matter what you end up deciding to feed - I believe it's always best to feed based on weight not size (ex: 1lb of grain not 1qt. Scoop of grain). One scoop of one type of feed may way 2-3x's what one scoop of another feed may weigh. The feeding recommendations are always based on weight so it's best to actually measure things out.

As far as how much hay should your horses be getting if they're also on pasture - I wish I knew! Haha - I wish I had some pasture!!

Chele- Horses should get 1-2% of their body weight in hay, but preferably they should get as much as they want. You can get a weight tape at a feed store or online to measure their weight, they only cost about $1.

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the The Horse Forum forums, you must first register.

Already have a Horse Forum account?
Members are allowed only one account per person at the Horse Forum, so if you've made an account here in the past you'll need to continue using that account. Please do not create a new account or you may lose access to the Horse Forum. If you need help recovering your existing account, please Contact Us. We'll be glad to help!

New to the Horse Forum?Please choose a username you will be satisfied with using for the duration of your membership at the Horse Forum. We do not change members' usernames upon request because that would make it difficult for everyone to keep track of who is who on the forum. For that reason, please do not incorporate your horse's name into your username so that you are not stuck with a username related to a horse you may no longer have some day, or use any other username you may no longer identify with or care for in the future.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Old Thread Warning

This thread is more than 90 days old. When a thread is this old, it is often better to start a new thread rather than post to it. However, If you feel you have something of value to add to this particular thread, you can do so by checking the box below before submitting your post.I am aware that this is an old thread and I want to revive it rather than starting a new thread.